Padraic Reaney was born in Carraroe, County Galway in 1952. Padraic is essentially a self-taught Irish artist, although he did attend Art College for a few years encouraged by the well-known sculptor Oisin Kelly. He has been a full-time artist since leaving art college producing both paintings and sculpture.
He painted for several years in Galway; later he built a studio in Moycullen, where he now lives and works.
In addition to his painting, Padraic Reaney has worked widely in graphics (e.g. etching, silk, screen). He has created sculpture in various media including: bronze, stone and ceramic with a rich use of silver and gold leaf. His art work has been used extensively for book covers and illustrations.
Padraic Reaney featured in a film that was made of one of his successful art exhibitions based on the Tain. It became R.T.É's entry in the Pan Celtic International Film Festival for 1988 - it was one of the three top films in the festival. The film and an interview with Padraic Reaney were shown on R.T.É., where several short features on his art work and interviews with him have appeared throughout the last years.
Padraic Reaney is a founder member of Western Artists, Island Connection, and Drimcong Press (with Brian Bourke and Jay Murphy), he was awarded the Padraic Mac Con Midhe Prize at the Oireachtas in 1979 to do a series of etchings recording the rapidly disappearing Irish thatched houses in Ros an MhÃl, Connemara. Padraic Reaney also represented Ireland in the XVIth Grand Prix International d'Arts Contemporain de Monte Carlo in 1982.
Padraic Reaney was invited to Scotland by the North Ayrshire Council in 1996 to undertake a series of art exhibitions on the Isles and the West Coast of Scotland. He was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Galway Arts Centre in 1996 and served on the Board until 1999.
Padraic Reaney art work is in many Irish public and private collections as well as art collections in Europe, Canada, the United States, Brazil and Japan.
Padraic Reaney sculptures at Red Rag Gallery
